PM celebrates Holi with ministers, Sonia with party men

New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) While the entire nation rejoiced in the the festival of colours Saturday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh quietly celebrated Holi with some of his ministerial colleagues. A cheerful Congress president Sonia Gandhi joined her party workers on the day and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee distributed colours and sweets to a group of children to mark the festival.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and ministers Prithviraj Chavan, Suresh Pachauri, Anand Sharma and Aswini Kumar were among those who arrived at 7 Safdarjung Road to celebrate Holi with the prime minister.

“It was not a major celebration. The ministers came at around 11 a.m., they greeted the prime minister by applying colour on his face and he distributed sweets to them,” an aide told IANS.

Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur was also present. “There were no advertisements nor were any photographers invited,” the aide said.

But the media was allowed to click photographs at 10 Janpath where Sonia Gandhi participated in the festival with party colleagues and workers. Clad in a pink sari, Gandhi was seen applying colours to the party men.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani received greetings from his family and party workers at his residence here.

Vajpayee, confined to his residence due to poor health, distributed gifts and colours to a group of children who visited him there.

In Patna, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad went for a wild Holi celebration in his trademark style. With hundreds of party workers singing and dancing around him and tearing one another’s clothes off, Lalu Prasad, himself soaked in pink coloured water, was seen encouraging his party workers, who were jumping into a huge water tank in front of his house.